Seward – A 61-year-old man is recovering after being rescued from a remote creek near Seward where he was pinned beneath a massive boulder for hours.
According to the Seward Fire Department, crews were dispatched just before noon on May 24 after receiving a report of a man trapped in the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek. The man had been pinned under a 700-pound boulder in the creek, with his spouse keeping his head above water while awaiting help.
Firefighters from Seward and Bear Creek, along with medics from Seward Volunteer Ambulance Corp, responded and established a command post near the SMIC quarry. The patient was located nearly two miles upstream in extremely rugged terrain. With travel by foot and ATV taking too long, a Bear Creek firefighter working for Seward Helicopter Tours coordinated a chopper to fly six rescuers directly to the scene—cutting down nearly 45 minutes of response time.
Because of the rocky terrain, the helicopter couldn’t land. Firefighters had to jump from the hovering aircraft into a boulder field to reach the man.
Crews used airbags, ropes, and brute force to free the patient, who was hypothermic and drifting in and out of consciousness. Once out of the water, medics worked to re-warm him, but determined the steep canyon made ground evacuation too dangerous.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, working through the State Troopers, deployed a pararescue team from the 176th Wing of the Alaska Air National Guard. The elite unit hoisted the man from the canyon and transferred him to an ambulance waiting nearby.
He was taken to Seward Providence Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Officials say no life-threatening injuries were found.
The Seward Fire Department credited the success of the complex rescue to the teamwork of local emergency crews, the helicopter team, the Alaska State Troopers, and the Air National Guard.
Cover Photo credit: Seward Volunteer Fire Dept. Facebook Page.